Although the water crisis in Karachi has been creating severe problems for people for so many years, the situation has worsened as large part of the city is without water. People were forced to buy water from the tanker mafia.

As the holy month of Ramazan has begun, people have no other option but to buy water from the tanker mafia and this mafia has increased the prices owing to increasing demand. Although the situation was very pathetic across the city, Surjani, New Karachi, North Karachi, Liaquatabad and Nazimabad in District Central were said to be the most affected parts of the city. Besides, the District West of Karachi, which is a tail area, hardly gets water from pipelines. The situation was not satisfactory in other districts — Korangi, Malir, South and East.

Enraged people took to streets in the wee hours of Saturday at Lyari and demanded the authorities concerned provide water to the area. They blocked the main road and kept protesting till Sehri. A similar demonstration was stage at Nazimabad No. 2 where area people gathered and asked the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to ensure provision of water to their area.

The protesters said that it was a matter of shame that KWSB was not providing water even in the month of Ramazan. “How should we prepare Sehr and Iftar in this situation,” they asked. When The Nation contacted the KWSB spokesman for his version, he did not attend the call.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) city chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman has warned of unrest in the city amid the prevailing loadshedding and urged the government to immediately restore electricity supply to the provincial capital.

Talking to the media in his office, he said, “If anyone takes the law in his hand due to loadshedding crises, the government would be responsible for this.”

He further said that during heatwaves and high temperatures K-Electric does not intend to cut down loadshedding hours, which has added to miseries of common people.

“Supreme Court has already taken suo motu notice of K-Electric’s inefficiency, but the crisis is still going on,” he commented. “Unfortunately, the company did not take any step to improve its efficiency despite earning huge profits,” he said.

He said that they are making lame excuses of power interruption from Bin Qasim power plant and increasing loadshedding hours, even in loadshedding exempted areas of the city. He pointed out that due to severe power crisis in the city water shortage is also raising its head. Many areas are facing acute shortage of drinking water, he said.

“On the other hand, the water tanker mafia is benefitting from loadshedding and water shortage in the city,” he said. He said that on Saturday the city witnessed several protests in the wake of water crisis and loadshedding. People are expressing their anger against government.

“The government must step up efforts to restore the power to the city and overcome the water crisis; otherwise, people would take law into their hands,” he said.